Golf club head covers



May 31, 1966 J. c. KOETTING GOLF CLUB HEAD COVERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 22, 1965 John 6. Kaezziny INVENTOR BY M A TTOENE Y May 31, 1966 J. c. KOETTING GOLF CLUB HEAD COVERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 22, 1965 John C, Kaett/ng INVENTOR BY 20%,, 5;. final.

ATTORNEY United States Patent Oflice azsasza Patented May 31, 1966 3,253,628 GOLF CLUB HEAD C(lVERS John C. Koetting, 3763 Colquitt, Houston, Tex. Filed July 22, 1965, Ser. No. 473,988 9 Claims. (Cl. 15052) This invention relates to golf club head covers adapted to restrain therein the oppositely outwardly extending, closely adjacent heads of a pair of clubs having shafts which rest upon the bottom of a retaining golf bag, whereby to draw the shafts into substantially adjacently extending, upstanding positions, as the golf bag may be carried from place to place; the individual cover portions for each head being constructed to be readily removed to offer easy access to the clubs, this application being a continuation-in-part application of co-pending application Serial No. 242,820, filed December 6, 1962, for Golf Club Head Covers.

As a primary object the invention sets out to provide a golf club head cover designed to restrain a pair of oppositely facing golf club heads in manner that they do not contact each other as carried; the shafts thereof resting upon the bottom of the golf bag, and extending upwardly with hosels substantially adjacent when the clubs are carried; the invention also being constructed so that the clutch may be easily placed for carriage, and easily accessible for withdrawal for use by providing the individual covers SO'COIISIIUCIEG as to be removable by deft manual operation.

It is also anobject of this invention to provide a golf club head in covered position and uppermost while the other clutch of the pair is being used.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a golf club head cover of this class which is easily fabricated, which is of light and inexpensive material, and which is easily installed and removed. I

It is a further object of this invention to provide a golf club head cover of this class in which each pocket is adapted to be fabricated of one or more pieces of cover material in manner to form an efficient assembled cover by modern mass production methods.

It is also an important object of the invention to provide a golf club head cover of this class in which a plurality of pairs of golf clubs may be interconnected together.

It is still an additional object of the invention to provide a golf club head cover of this class in which the junction between oppositely facing cover caps, tops, or head portions are interconnected by a junction seam or line which terminates below the central top of the pair of pockets, but a spaced distance above the throats thereof.

It is still a further and additional object of this invention to provide a golf club head cover of this class in which the skirts or bottom portions of the cover sections are enlarged substantially wider than the throats, with hems or lowermost dimension greater in peripheral dimension than any peripheral dimension of the pocket, or cup or golf club head receiving portion.

Other nd further objects will be apparent when the specification herein is considered in connection with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view, substantially isometric, showing the covers for two pair of golf clubs as such are positioned in a golf bag partitioned in manner to provide a compartment for each pair of clubs;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a pictorial view, substantially isometric, showing adjoined two double golf club head covers illustrative of how four such covers may be employed while remaining adjoined, but in construction and arrangement permitting any individual cover to be removed without affecting the other covers as to their main functioning; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a pair of golf club head covers illustrative of this invention as fabricated out of knitted material.

Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like reference numerals are applied to like elements in the various views, a golf bag 10 is shown in FIG. 1 having upstanding partition walls 11 therein and a binding rim 12 around the top to further restrain the partition walls 11 in aligned transverse position.

A pair of golf clubs, including a club 13 and a club 14, as shown in FIG. 2, is placed in each compartment with the shafts of the clubs downwardly. A cover 15 is provided for each pair of clubs to extend over the heads thereof when the heads face oppositely. Each cover 15 is thus comprised of two individual covers 16 and 17, respectively, into which the heads of the respective clubs 14 and 13 extend. Each individual cover 16 and 17 is of lesser width at its throat 18 than the width of the head or pocket 19 of each cover, and also below each throat 18 each cover is flared out to a skirt 20 which is also of substantially greater width and peripheral dimension than the throat, and preferably of greater width than the respective head or pocket 19. Each cover thus hears such relation to the club 24- therein that when installed the bottom 22 of a cover is well below the hosel 23 of the golf club head 24 which the pocket covers.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the clubs 14 and 13 are restrained in their shafts in substantially adjacent positions or in abutment at the bottom of the golf bag. The clubs then extend angularly upwardly and outwardly in opposite directions so that the club heads 24 are slightly spaced apart at the top. The hosels 23 of the clubs are within the respective covers 15 and the hems or bottoms 22 of the covers are dispos d to some extent below the hosels. The toe plates 25 of the respective clubs 13 and 14 thus rest within the pockets or tops 19 of the respective individual covers 16 and 17 in positions slightly spaced below the uppermost points of these individual covers, while the face plates 26, which are at substantial right angles thereto, face sidewardly.

In construction each cover 16 and 17 is shown to be comprised of complemental, respective right and left sections 15a, 16b and 17a, 17b which are sewed together by respective outer and inner vertical seams 16c, 16d and 17c, 17d with the upper, inner seams 16d, 17d being joined or merged near the top in a hinge seam 30. Respective top members 29a and 29b may be provided for each cover 16, 17, and sewed in to join the-covers 16 and 17 at the top, and the two parts 29a and 2% may comprise a single piece of material, or they may be comprised of two pieces of material. As a matter of fact, each cover may be comprised of one or more parts of material, as mass production methods may require.

In the particular form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-3, inclusive, the top members 29a and 2% are separate and are sewed together at their inner edges along a seam 21, above the vertical seam 30, and outwardly the respective top members 29a, 29b are connected to the respective heads or pockets 19 along a seam 27. As a matter of choice, an elastic or contractible ruffle 28 is provided around each throat 18, as shown in FIG. 1, to maintain the throat contracted around the hosel 23 of the respective club whose head has been passed upwardly therethrough, or, as indicated in FIG. 2, the material of the cover, or at least of the throat 13 may be itself stretchable and cont-ractible.

As shown in FIG. 4, two other forms of golf club head covers 31 and 32 are joined by a connection cord 33, as

for instance, a cord having a knot 33a between the top central parts of each cover and knots 33b and 33c, respectively, to the left and right of the respective covers 31, 32, thereby to join them together in manner to permit each separate pocket or single head cover to be moved in hingedly pivoted relationship.

Each cover 31, 32 comprises a pair of golf club head covers 32a, 32b and 31a, 31b, respectively, and in each case the individual golf club head cover comprises a pocket top or head cover 34 to receive the head of a club therein. A flared skirt 35 serves the lowermost member thereof, and a throat or reduced diameter portion 36, which is of smaller diameter or dimension than the pocket or head cover 34 thereabove, and also substantially smaller peripheral dimension than the skirt 35 therebelow, serves as the connection member between head cover and throat. The individual golf club head covers 31a, 31b and 32a, 32b are shown in FIG. 4 as if integrally formed together but with the location of connection being above the throat 36 and in manner that the covers of a pair are hingedly connected. Also, as a noticeable feature, the respective pairs of covers 31, 32 are hingedly connected by the cord 33 and the knot portion 33a thereof.

In this form of the invention as aforesaid, the covers of each pair or each pair of covers may be made of an integrally formed piece of material, either of fabric or of plastic, and also each pair, or each cover of a pair may be made of one or several pieces, cut as mass production assembly methods may dictate.

As shown in FIG. 5, an optional form or embodiment is disclosed of knitted fabric or thread, a pair 40 of individual head cove-rs 41a and 41b being formed with an inner. single thickness layer 42, or knitted pattern, indicated by the par-ts in white, having spaced apart longitudinally extending ridges 43 of material superimposed, as stretchable strength member, over the single thickness inner layer which is of configuration to cover the golf club heads, correspondingly as disclosed in FIGS. 1-4, inclusive, 'hereinabove.

In this case each cover 41a or 41b comprises a head cover or pocket 44, substantially of configuration shown, thus with the top part cover 45 to be normally folded inwardly, while the top of each pocket extends outwardly and upwardly from the hinge seam 46. Also, in this form of the invention, the reduction of throat 47 is formed by laying out the single thickness under layer 42 with a lesser throat dimension, with spaced apart, longitudinally extending, reenforcing throat ribs 47a provided in such throat, as shown.

The skirts 48a, 48b of the respective golf club head covers 41a, 41b are of the configuration shown in FIG. 5, as to side elevation. Each skirt is formed of the single thickness, knitted fabric layer, with parallel, longitudinally extending reenforcing ribs spaced apart as shown, thereby to provide the flared open bottoms 49a, 4%, so that easy access may be had into the open bottoms of the skirts to shuck off the skirt of the golf club head cover of a respective golf club, as selected for use.

In this form of the invention, as in the preceding forms, it should be noticeable that the hinge seam 46, by which the respective covers 41a, 41b, are hingedly joined back-'to-back for a part of the distance below the top, does not extend all the way down to the throat 47, but only part of the way, thus to provide for an effective hinge action.

The invention is not limited to the exact structures shown, but rather considers all types of structures, and forms providing snugly fitting golf club head pockets hingedly connected back-to-back with hinge to extend downwardly from the top wherein the hinge terminates at or above the throat, of reduced dimension and of stretchability, with a skirt below the throat and flared out to larger dimension with open bottom. These structures having the aforesaid specifications are considered as long as such fall within the broad spirit of the invention, and within the broad scope of interpretation claimed for and merited by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A golf club head cover to cover a pair of golf club heads with heads upwardly and with hosels adjacently and back to back and head thus extending outwardly in opposite directions, said cover including a pair of pockets, each pocket having downwardly an extensible throat expansible to admit a club head therethrough and normally contractible to bind against the hosel slightly below the club head, each cover having a skirt for each pocket extending below its throat and of substantially greater peripheral dimension than the throat to which it is adjoined, whereby to guidably receive a club head for insertion through the throat into the pocket and to cover the upper part of the club hosel, said skirt, as dimensioned, thus being of size to permit the pocket to be removed from a club head as the throat is released by shucking it over the club head, said pockets being hingedly connected adjacent the, top inner parts thereof and above said throat whereby a pocket may be manipulated to receive, or to be removed from, one club head while the other pocket remains covering an opposed club head, and said pockets extending downwardly and outwardly from said hinge connection. 1

2. A golf club head cove-r as claimed in claim 1 in which each cover of a pair is comprised of a single piece of material.

3. A golf club head cover as claimed in claim 1 in which each cover of a pair is comprised of a plurality of pieces of material.

4. A golf club head cover as claimed in-clairn 1 in which each skirt extends a greater vertical distance below the respective throat to which it is joined than the pocket extends in vertical distance above such throat.

5. A golf club head cover as claimed in claim 1 in which each cover of a pair is comprised of a fabric material.

6. A golf club head cover as claimed in claim 1 in which each cover is comprised of a plastic material.

7. A golf club head cover as claimed in claim 1 in which each cover is comprised of a knitted fabric materia 8. A plurality of golf club head covers to cover a plurality of pairs of golf clubs, each pair of golfclub being disposed with hosels upwardly and adjacently back to back whereby the respective heads extend outwardly in opposite directions, the cover for each pair including a pair of pockets to fit over the respective heads with clearance and each pocket having an extensible and normally contractible throat downwardly to contract about a respective hosel,'an open bottom skirt below the throat of each pocket and flared outwardly with hem lowermost and of substantially greater peripheral dimension than said throat, hinge means including means to hingedly connect the pockets of each pair together back to back with said hinge means being disposed above the respective throats of the respective pair of ,pockets it connects, said hinge means also including means to adjacently connect pairs of covers.

9. A plurality of golf club head covers to cover a plurality of pairs of golf clubs, as claimed in claim 8, in which said hinge means includes a cord disposed centrally between, and knotted between, a pair of covers and extending outwardly therefrom through adjacent pairs and knotted at each end outwardly of said pairs.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. 

1. A GOLF CLUB HEAD COVER TO COVER A PAIR OF GOLF CLUB HEADS WITH HEADS UPWARDLY AND WITH HOSELS ADJACENTLY AND BACK TO BACK AND HEAD THUS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, SAID COVER INCLUDING A PAIR OF POCKETS, EACH POCKET HAVING DONWWARDLY AN EXTENSIBLE THROAT EXPANSIBLE TO ADMIT A CLUB HEAD THERETHROUGH AND NORMALLY CONTRACTIBLE TO BIND AGAINST THE HOSEL SLIGHTLY BELOW THE CLUB HEAD, EACH COVER HAVING A SKIRT FOR EACH POCKET EXTENDING BELOW ITS THROAT AND OF SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER PERIPHERAL DIMENSION THAN THE THROAT TO WHICH IT IS ADJOINED, WHEREBY TO GUIDABLY RECIEVE A CLUB HEAD FOR INSERTION THROUGH THE THROAT INTO THE POCKET AND TO COVER THE UPPER PART OF THE CLUB HOSEL, SAID SKIRT, AS DIMENSIONED, THUS BEING OF SIZE TO PERMIT THE POCKET TO BE REMOVED FROM A CLUB HEAD AS THE THROAT IS RELEASED BY SHUCKING IT OVER THE CLUB HEAD, SAID POCKETS BEING HINGEDLY CONNECTED ADJACENT THE TOP INNER PARTS THEREOF AND ABOVE SAID THROAT WHEREBY A POCKET MAY BE MANIPULATED TO RECEIVE, OR TO BE REMOVED FROM, ONE CLUB HEAD WHILE THE OTHER POCKET REMAINS COVERING AN OPPOSED CLUB HEAD, AND SAID POCKETS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FROM SAID HINGE CONNECTION. 